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Hotel
Casino |
For us, the
Casino Hotel was the beginning. In many ways, it was also a
crucible, a place where our ideas could be tested, our
mistakes made. And finally, it was the place where our
processes were brought to their best possible levels. Our
guests tell us that this shows. And indeed, many of the
experiences and services that CGH Earth offers were
perfected at Casino Hotel first.
For the first time visitor to Kerala, it’s the ideal place
to start. For here you can transit grace fully between two
worlds. On the one hand, the cosmopolitan delights of
Cochin, with its restaurants, shopping and entertainment. On
the other, Kerala’s unique culture, manners and cuisine.
Familiar Pleasures
Excursions into the town can be as tiring as they are
exhilerating. Specially if you’re not so used to the climate
(Kerala usually oscillates between breezy warmth, pouring
rain and torrid sunshine!).
The Cascade pool can be the perfect restorative. Swimsuits
are available in the gift shop - which is worth a visit,
even if you aren’t so keen on a dip. You’ll find exquisite
examples of traditional Keralan crafts, exotic fabrics,
garments, books, handbags and all sorts of fascinating
bric-a-brac.
Another great way to relax is an ayurvedic massage. Ayurveda
is the ancient Indian system of medicine, and the Casino has
its own resident experts and fully equipped facilities. |
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Dusk falls quickly in this part of
the world.
If the cocktail hour beckons you, the Vasco da Gama lounge
is the hotel’s ever-popular watering hole. You can linger
over exotic cocktails (Cochin Thunder, Pink Ladies and some
superb concoctions based on the local tipples) or in a new
twist, sample some health drinks based on ayurvedic ideas.
If you’re in a mood to confer
The Durbar Hall is the place. It accommodates upto 350
people in gracious style. For smaller gatherings you can opt
for the Harbour Lounge Banqueting Suite, which seats 40.
Kerala on a Platter
The restaurants at the Casino hotel have become institutions
for Cochin’s food lovers. If you feel a need to temper the
exotic with the familiar, The ’Tharavadu’ is the place to
begin. It serves an extensive buffet for breakfast, lunch
and dinner. Your first breakfast in Kerala could be good
olscrambled eggs, your lunch roast chicken and a shrimp
salad, your dinner a fiery squid curry and appams ( fluffy
rounds of fermented rice and pulses, the traditional
accompaniment to Kerala meals). The range of Indian and
Continental cuisine is vast.
Tharavadu
Incidentally means traditional cottage (the ’u’ is almost,
but not quite, silent. But don’t worry too much! Only a home
grown Keralite can bend his tongue around the intricacies of
Malayalam pronunciation.)
The specialty seafood restaurant
Fort Cochin, is our pride and joy, perpetually popular,
though it is open only in the evenings. Good House keeping
called Fort Cochin "one of the most renowned seafood
restaurants in India". Eating here is like diving off a
springboard into the flavours and textures of food
throughout Kerala.
Rather than a daily menu,
A trolley contains the catch of the day, straight off
Cochin’s fishing nets. You can expect king prawns, lobster,
Indian salmon, snapper, pomfret, squid, mullet, seer fish
and more. Once you’ve selected your fish, you get to decide
how it’s cooked - whether stir-fried inthe spices of the
East, steamed, baked, or poached, and served with the famous
string hoppers, rice or naan. See why it’s a good idea to
make an advance booking?
To Willington Island
The Hotel is located on Willingdon Island, a man-made legacy
of the Raj era and one of the reasons why Cochin ranks
amongst the world’s finest harbours. As you drive to to the
hotel, you pass the massive dockyards of this ancient port,
omnipresent coconut trees and stretches of glittering
Arabian Sea.
Now properly introduced
you are guided you to your room. Simplicity and elegance are
the lietmotifs, as indeed they are in all our properties.
The parquet floors in the room are a distinctive touch and
you can luxuriate with bubble bath and shampoo from the
little clay pots in your spacious bathroom. Once you’re
rested, ready, and refreshed, it’s time to sail into Cochin.
But if Ernakulam is the heart
Then the soul of Cochin lies in its older quarters. Here,
eight centuries of history are on display, as are a
kaleidoscope of cultures. In a span of a few kilometers, you
can see a Dutch Harbour house, India’s oldest Jewish
synagogue, The Catholic St Francis Church, Portuguese
navigator Vasco Da Gama’s grave, The Hindu Raja of Cochin’s
Mattancherry Palace, The British Raj-era Cochin Club, and
the towering Chinese fishing nets on the harbour! |
